1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an adjustment device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a drag adjustment device for a dual-bearing reel that adjusts the drag force of a lever drag mechanism to apply a braking force to a spool in the dual-bearing reel.
2. Background Information
Generally, a dual-bearing reel is furnished with a drag mechanism which brakes the rotation of a spool in the line releasing direction. Among drag mechanisms, a lever drag mechanism has excellent operability and drag adjusting accuracy in contrast with a star drag mechanism. Thus, the lever drag mechanism is commonly applied to large-sized dual-bearing reels.
Conventionally, a drag adjustment device, which adjusts the drag force of the lever drag mechanism, has a drag adjustment lever, a moving mechanism and a sounding mechanism. The drag adjustment lever is pivotably attached to a reel unit. The moving mechanism moves a spool shaft in the axial direction by the pivoting of the drag adjustment lever. The sounding mechanism emits sound in response to the pivoting of the drag operating lever to provide a clicking feeling. (See, for example, Japanese Publication No. S60-72172.)
The drag adjustment lever is pivotably attached to the reel unit from a free position, where the drag force is not applied. The spool can freely rotate to a maximum position, where the drag force is the maximum. The sounding mechanism sounds in the whole pivoting range of the drag operating lever. The sounding mechanism has an interlocking disk, which is attached to the reel unit, and a ball, which is provided in the drag adjustment lever. A plurality of sounding holes with which the ball collides is formed in the interlocking disk. When the drag adjustment lever is operated, the ball collides with the sounding holes and thus emits sound.
Among dual-bearing reels with this type of lever drag mechanism, a reel having a strike position that is set to the extent of one-third the tensile strength of the fishing line is known. The strike position is one example of an intermediate position and is between the free position and the maximum position of the drag adjustment lever. An intermediate positioning mechanism is provided in order to position the drag adjustment lever at the strike position.
The intermediate positioning mechanism includes a positioning block which is attached to the reel unit at the strike position between the free position and the maximum position so as to be able to advance or retreat. The intermediate positioning mechanism further includes a spring member, which urges the positioning block in an advance direction. The intermediate positioning mechanism allows the positioning block to contact the drag adjustment lever so as to position the drag adjustment lever at the strike position when the drag adjustment lever is pivoted from the free position to the strike position. The intermediate positioning mechanism allows the positioning block to retreat by utilizing an angler's finger or thumb, which operates the drag adjustment lever. In the operation for pressing the positioning block, the angler is required to move a part of his finger or thumb off the drag adjustment lever and press the positioning block with the same part of the finger or thumb to cause the positioning block to retreat. Accordingly, even if the resistance applied to the drag adjustment lever is constant, the angler feels a force for operation increase.
In the conventional construction, generally, the angler rarely operates the drag adjustment lever between the strike position and the maximum position. However, since the sounding mechanism is configured to sound in the entire drag adjustment range, the resistance for sounding or providing a clicking feeling rises. In the case where such resistance rises, particularly in the operation for pressing the positioning block, the angler feels that the force for operation further increases due to resistance produced by the sounding mechanism since the angler moves a part of his fingers and thumb off of the drag adjustment lever. This disturbs lever operation and causes difficult operation of the drag adjustment lever toward the maximum position.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved drag adjustment device that operates without causing difficult operation of a drag adjustment lever. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.